Rohith Vemula's mother calls Telangana Police's closure report 'false'

Radhika Vemula, the mother of late University of Hyderabad student Rohith Vemula, on Saturday, said the Telangana Police's closure report that stated that her son was not a Dalit, was 'false'.

Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad, died by suicide in January 2016. The police gave a clean chit to the university's former Vice Chancellor and some BJP leaders.

Addressing a press conference at the University of Hyderabad, Radhika Vemula alleged that the police took the statements of some BJP leaders and closed the case with "falsified reports".

"How did they close it? We don't know what had happened. How can the police ask about caste? I'm a Dalit woman. How can my offspring not be a Dalit?" she said.

She also said her son had been a brilliant student and pointed out that the report said he was not a studious person. "They have spread false information about my son," she added.

"How can they say he hasn't studied? Rohith came second when he was in Class 10. He also scored good marks," Radhika Vemula said.

She said she met Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy who assured her that the case would be reopened soon.

On the other hand, the Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA), a student organisation representing the backward communities, said the closure report had focused more on building a narrative that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit.

"When we got the report into our hands, it was a great shock and disappointment to hear it. The students from ASA had filed a complaint. The report had over 30 pages dedicated to the narrative that he was not a Dalit," ASA said, adding that his identity after his death was snatched away.

The students' union alleged that the closure report stated that Rohith Vemula had violent tendencies and was based solely on the testimony of ABVP leaders and some BJP leaders.

"This report has been fabricated with lies and mistruths. It is a shock for us. Smriti Irani, Bandaru Dattatreya, VC Appa Rao and sitting MLC Ranachander Rao were all absolved of this institutional murder," it said.

The police's investigation suggests that Rohith Vemula's suicide was driven by the fear of his true caste being disclosed, as he identified himself as belonging to the Scheduled Caste category.

Dattatreya, then a Union Minister, in 2015, wrote to the Ministry of Human Resource Development about "casteist, extremist, and anti-national politics" at the University of Hyderabad, leading to accusations of abetment to suicide.

"The report goes on to state that he was not meritorious and that he was interested in politics and not academics. The report reveals the kind of pressure that was upon Rohith Vemula," ASA said.

It also said all "progressive" organisations of the University of Hyderabad protested against the closure report. It demanded that the report be withdrawn and action against investigating officers.